Crimping tool



July 4, 1961 w. ROVER CRIMPINYG TOQL 5 Sheets-Sheet l.

Filed Jan. 18, 71965- W. R. OVER CRIMPING TOOL July 4, 1967 5Shets-Sheet :5

Filed Jan. 18, 1965 July 4, 1967 w. R. OVER 3,328,871

CRIMPING TOOL Filed Jan. 18, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 W. R. OVER CRIMPINGTOOL July 4, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 18, 1965 ate Thisinvention relates to apparatus of the type intended for trimming theends of wires and crimping opensided electrical connectors onto thetrimmed ends.

In the co-pending application of Richard Ellwood Reem, et al., Ser. No.351,024, filed Mar. 11, 1964, there is disclosed an apparatus forcrimping open-sided (open U-type) electrical connectors onto a wire end,or onto two or more wire ends, in a manner such that the ends of thewires are trimmed during the operating cycle of the apparatus and placedbetween the sidewalls of the connector immediately prior to crimping.Apparatus of the type disclosed in this Reem et a1. application areparticularly adapted to the making of splices between wires extendingtowards each other from opposite directions although apparatus of thistype can also be used for crimping a single wire onto a terminal. Thecopending application of James Earl Marley et al., Ser. No. 391,087,filed Aug. 20, 1964, now abandoned, discloses and claims one type ofsplice connector intended for usage with the Reem et a1. apparatus.

The present invention relates to an improvement to the apparatus of theabove-identified Reem et al. application and particularly to anapparatus in which the manipulative steps of the operator arefacilitated.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus fortrimming the ends of electrical conductors and crimping open U-typeterminals onto the trimmed ends. It is a further object of the inventionto provide an improved apparatus for making splice-type electricalconnections. It is a further object to provide an apparatus for makingsplices involving more than two wires. A further object of the inventionis to provide an apparatus for making electrical connections whichfacilitates the manipulative steps of the operator using the apparatus.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment thereof comprising a crimping die and an anvil, the diehaving a channel or trough extending therethrough which is adapted tobend the sidewalls of an open-sided connector inwardly and towards eachother during a crimping operation. A slot is provided in the dieextending transversely of the axis of the trough and a shearing memberis provided on the anvil which is movable into the slot. This shearingmember is disposed between the die and anvil when the die and anvil areapart and moves into the slot concomitantly with movement of the anvilrelatively towards the die. The arrangement is such that wires extendingfrom opposite directions towards each other can be positioned betweenthe die and anvil with the end portions extending into the slot in thedie. Upon movement of the anvil relatively towards the die, the shearingmember initially shears the excess wire in the slot by cooperation withthe sides of the slot. Upon further movement of the anvil towards thedie, the trimmed ends are positioned in the open U-type connector on theanvil and the sidewalls of the connector are folded over into thecrirnped engagement with the trimmed wire ends. The disclosed embodimentof the invention includes a means for separating wires where two wiresextending from the same direction are to be crirnped in a connector andspliced to one or two wires extending from the opposite direction. Thedisclosed embodiment also includes a means in each end of the apparatusfor clamping the wires being spliced during the critical portion of thecrimping operation when the connector sidewalls are being folded intocrirnped engagement with wires. By virtue of this feature and otherfeatures of the disclosed embodiment described more fully below, theinvention is particularly convenient to use where, for example,individual conductors in a telephone cable are being spliced in situ.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of hand tool inaccordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view, with parts broken away, of the tool of FIGURE 1showing the positions of the parts when the crimping die and anvil arein their opened positions;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the positions of theparts when the die and anvil are closed at the end of a crimpingoperation;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken along the lines 44 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but showing the positions of theparts at the completion of the crimping operation;

FIGURE 6 is a view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of an uncrimped splice connector of thetype intended for usage with the disclosed embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a completed splice; and

FIGURE 9 is a View similar to FIGURE 6 but showing the positions of theparts at the end of the crimping operation.

Referring first to FIGURE 7, a splice connector 2 in accordance with thegeneral teachings of the previously identified Marley et al.application, Ser. No. 391,087, comprises a metallic channel member 4 ofbrass or other suitable conductive metal having sidewalls 6 extendingfrom its longitudinal edges. A film 8 of insulating plastic material isprovided on the external surface of channel memer 4 for the purpose ofinsulating the completed splice connection as indicated at 2' in FIGURE8. Two pairs of spaced-apart tangs .12, 14 are struck up from the web 10of the channel 4, each pair being associated with one end of theconnector. Spaced-apart slots 16 are provided in the tangs 12, 14, thewidth of these slots being such that their edges will penetrate theinsulation of a conductor, when the conductor is forced downwardly intothe slots, to establish contact with the metallic cores of theconductors. Advantageously, ears 18 are provided in the sidewalls 6beside the pairs of tangs 12, 14 for the purpose of forcing theconductors down into the slots 16 when the sidewalls are bent inwardlytowards each other.

The splice connector of FIGURE 7 is adapted to make a common connectionamong two pairs of wires 20, 22 which extend from opposite directionstowards each other. In the finished connection, the wires 20 extend intothe connector from one side thereof and through the slots 16 of thetangs 12 while the wires 22 extend from the opposite direction andthrough the slots of the tangs 14. It is not necessary to strip theinsulation from the wire ends since the electrical contact with thewires is established when they are forced downwardly towards the web 10of the connector and into the slots 16 of the tangs as explained fullyin the previously identified Marley et al. application.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 4, a preferred form of hand tool 24 inaccordance with the invention comprises a two-part crimping die 26, 28and an anvil 30" which is movable relatively towards and away from thedie. The two parts 26, 28 of the die each have troughs extendingtherethrough which function to bend the sidewalls of the connectortowards each other and towards the web 10 of the connector during suchmovement of the anvil towards the die. These troughs or channels haveconvergent surfaces on each side 34, 36 which merge with parallelsurfaces 38, 40 (see FIGURE 6). The parallel surfaces, in turn, arerevcrsely curved towards each other to form a central axially extendingcusp 42. The two parts 28-, 30 of the die are spaced apart to form acentral slot 44 which intersects the trough-like forming surface andwhich extends in a plane disposed normally of the axis of these formingsurfaces.

A shearing member in the form of a blade or block 46 is disposed betweenthe die and anvil and extends transversely of the axis of the die andacross the connector-supported surface 32 of the anvil. The thickness ofthis block is substantially equal to the width of the slot 44 and itsedges 47 are advantageously made relatively sharp so that they cancooperate with the edges 49 of the die blocks 26, 28 to shear the endsof the wires being conected. Shearing blade 46 has a central cusp-likeprojection 48 on its upper surface which functions to assist inmaintaining the separation between pairs of wires being spliced as willbecome apparent as this description proceeds. The blade 46 is secured toa base portion 54 of the anvil 30 by means of a depending arm 50 whichextends downwardly behind the anvil (as viewed in FIGURE 4) and which ismounted on a pin 52 in the anvil base. The anvil 30 also has a dependingarm 55 by means of which it is connected to the tool linkage.

As previously mentioned, the disclosed embodiment of the invention isadapted to crimp a first pair of wires 20 to a second pair 22 to form acommon connection among the four Wires involved. It is desirable tomaintain separation of the pair 20 and the pair 22 while the individualwires are being moved relatively into the slots 16 of the tangs 12, 14.In order to maintain this separation during the crimping operation,there are provided a pair of spaced-apart wire separators 56 (FIGURE 6)one of these separators being associated with each of the die blocks 26,28. These separators extend downwardly from the die blocks and centrallywith respect to the forming surfaces 3440 of the dies and are integralat their upper ends with guide members 58 which are slidable throughslots 60 in the die blocks on each side of the central wire-receivingslot 44. The guide portions 60 of the separators extend downwardlybeside the surface of a portion 68 of the tool frame and have a pin-slotconnection 62 in their lower ends with the previously identified pin 52.The lower ends of guide portions 58 are inwardly bent as shown at 61 andbear against the upper ends of a pair of ears '86 on the tool frame. Itwill thus be apparent that there is a lost motion connection between theanvil and the separators and that the separators will be moved upwardly'with the anvil after the lost motion, provided by the slots 62, hasbeen taken up. At the end of the upward stroke of the anvil, the guideportions 58 move against springs '9 mounted in slots 74 of the headportion of the frame. When the common connection among four wires of thetype shown in FIGURE 8 is to be made, each of the wires 20 is disposedon one side of the separators v56 on the left in FIGURE 4 and each ofthe wires 22 is disposed on one side of the separators on the right inthis figure. The end portions of the wires are then led into the slot 44as shown best in FIGURE 4.

The die blocks 26, 28 are secured by fasteners 70 to the underside of ahead portion 66 of a frame member 64. This frame member has a dependingarm 68 to which handles 76, 82 are connected as described below. Head 66has a central slot 72 in alignment with the slot 44 between the dieblocks and has slots 74, as previously noted, in alignment with theslots 60 and in which the return springs 59 are disposed. As best shownin FIGURE 6, these return springs may take the form of simple wiresprings mounted on pins disposed in the slots 74 and having arm portionslocked in suitable notches on the sides of the slots 74.

The fixed handle 76 of the linkage system is secured at its upper end 78, 80 to the arm 68 of the frame. Handle 76 is of channel-shaped crosssection and has sidewalls 77. A pin 84 extends between the sidewalls 77and between a pair of spaced-apart ears 86 extending from the frame 68.The movable handle 82 is also of channel-shaped construction and ispivoted at its upper end to the pin 84, the sidewalls of the movablehandle being nested within the cars 86 as bestshown in FIGURE 4. Pin 84extends through a slot 85 in the depending arm 55 of the anvil to permitrelative upward movement of the anvil with respect to the frame 64.

The auxiliary handle 88 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 90 to thehandle 82 and is pivoted at its inner end 92 to the lower end portion ofanvil extension 55. This anvil extension has leftwardly extending ears94 which extend between a pair of spaced-apart extensions $5 of theframe arm 68. Slots 98 are provided in the extensions 95 and a pin 96extends through the ears 94 and into the slots 96. This pin-slotconnection functions to guide the anvil extension 55 and the anvil alonga rectilinear path towards and away from the crimping die during theclosure of the handles.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention is intended to be used for thesplicing of conductors of a telephone cable in situ or under similarcircumstances where the conductors will be free hanging. In other words,the conductors 20, 22 in FIGURE 8 may extend indefinitely to the rightand to the left and not be subject to close control by the operatorduring the crimping operation. It is desirable that the conductors beingspliced should not be under any tensile stress during crimping and toavoid such stress and to isolate the end portions of the condoctors Iprovide clamping means at each end of the anvil. These clam-ping meanstake the form of pressure pads 100 mounted on blocks 102 at the ends ofthe mandrel surface 32. The pads 100 cooperate with resiliently biasedslide members 104 which are slidably mounted by pinslot connections 108,110, blocks 106 on each side of the frame head. The members 104 areurged downwardly by means of springs 112 which extend through slots onthe rearward sides of the blocks 106. The springs 112 are formed fromcontinuous length of wire which extends from an eye portion 114 securedto the back face of the head of the frame, as shown at 116. When theconductors are clamped (FIGURE 5) the concave surfaces of the pads 100and the convex surfaces on the lower ends of the slide members 104impart sinuous bends to the wires in the clamped zones thereoffThesesinuous bends prevent, or at least limit, the transmission of tensilestresses to the portions of the wires to which the connector is beingcrimped.

In use, if it is assumed that the two Wires 20', 22 in FIGURE 1 are tobe spliced, the wires are merely led within the trough portions of thedies and through the slots 44, 72. In order to assist the operator inguiding the wires and positioning them in these slots, a pair of wireguide members 118 are provided on the front side of the frame head.These guide members comprise plates having forwardly extending flanges120' which are pointed or tapered as indicated to form convergentsurfaces 122 leading towards the slot 44 between the die blocks. Theoperator can thus grasp the ends of the two wires 20, 22 in his righthand and, While holding the tool in his left hand, pull the wirestowards the tool head so that they are guided by the edges 122 of theguides until the end portions of the wires are disposed in the alignedslots 44, 72. Positioning the wires in the tool is essentially the sameas described above if four wires are to be spliced (FIGURE 8) exceptingthat the wires on each side of the splice must be separated with regardto the wire separators 56 as previously noted. Advantageously, a thumbpiece 125 is provided on the front of the tool on the sidewalls of thefixed handle. This thumb piece is used by the operator while he holdsthe tool with his left hand and positions the wire in the slots 44, 72with his right hand.

After the wires have been positioned, as in FIGURE 4, with their endportions in the slots 44, 72, the auxiliary handle 88 is moved in agenerally clockwise direction about its pivotal axis 90 until thisauxiliary handle is nested in the slot 124 of the handle 82. During thismovement of the auxiliary handle, the movable handle 82 is also swungabout its pivotal axis 84 and carried through part of its stroke. Afterthe tool handles 88, 82 are brought into registry, the handles are movedas a unit through the remaining portion of the stroke of the handle 82until the parts reach the positions shown in FIGURES 3 and 5. Duringsuch closure of the handles, edges 47 of the shearing member 46 movepast the edges 49 of the die blocks 26, 28 thereby trimming the ends ofthe wires. Upon further movement of the anvil towards the die blocks,the uncrimped connector is carried into the troughs of the die blocks,the wires are moved into the slots 16 in the .tangs 12, 14 of theconnector, and the sidewalls of the channel are forced over against thewire and into the crimped relationship therewith. The wire separators 56are moved upwardly, as viewed in FIG- URE 6, during the latter portionof the stroke and after the lost motion permitted by the pin-slotconnections 52, 62 has been taken up.

It should be mentioned that the springs 59 function to prevent upwardtravel of the separators beyond the position shown in FIGURE 9 if thepin 52 fails to move to the upper end of the slot 62 during upwardmovement of the anvil. For example, if the pin 5'2 and the guideportions 58 of the separators should remain in the relative positions ofFIGURE 6 during upward travel of the anvil (as by reason of highfriction between the parts), then the upper ends of the separators wouldmove against the springs 59 prior to bending of the connector sidewalls.The separators would be prevented from further upward movement and thepin 52 would move relatively upwardly with respect to the guide portions58. This feature is provided in order to assure the presence of thelower end of the separators in the vicinity of the connector during theactual bending of the connector sidewalls in order to prevent the wiresfrom being improperly positioned while the sidewalls are being bent.

A salient advantage of the disclosed embodiment of the invention is theease with which up to four wires can be positioned in the tool inpreparation for crimping operation. The operator merely grasps the endportions of the wires and moves them past the edges 122 into the slots44, 72 and then closes the tool handles in the manner previouslydescrided. The separators 56 will maintain the wires in separatedcondition and assure proper positioning of the wires with respect to theinsulation piercing slots of the tangs. Finally, the clamping members ateach end of the anvil 104, 100 firmly clamp the wires during thecrimping operation to prevent the transmission of stresses to the wireswhile they are being crimped in the connector.

While the disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a hand tool,the principles of the invention are equally applicable to usagewithautomatic or semiautomatic crimping devices of the type which aremounted on a suitable bench or other support. Under such circumstances,the hand tool linkage shown could be replaced by a suitable pneumatic orelectric actuating mechanism.

It should also be added that the principles of the invention can also beused in tools adapted to crimp connecting devices other than splice-typeconnectors. For example, the trim and insert principle and theprinciples of the present invention can be used to crimp terminals ofthe ring-tongue type where a single wire is being crimped onto theterminal. Under such circumstances, one of the die blocks 26, 28 wouldbe eliminated and a means would be provided for holding the ring-tongueend of the terminal during crimping.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by Wayof illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for trimming an end of a wire and crimping an open-sidedconnector onto said end comprising, a crimping die having trough-likeforming surface portions for bending the sidewalls of said connectorinto crimped engagement with said wire, a crimping anvil, a slot in saiddie extending transversely of the axis thereof and intersecting saidforming surface portions, a shear ing member disposed between said dieand anvil and in alignment with said slot, means rigidly connecting saidshearing member to said anvil, and means for moving said anvilrelatively towards and away from said die whereby, upon positioning saidwire in said die with its axis extending parallel to the axis of saidtrough-like portion and with its end portion in said slot, and uponrelative movement of said anvil towards said die, said shearing membermoves into said slot, said end portion of said wire is trimmed, and saidconnector is crimped onto the trimmed end of said wire.

2. Apparatus for trimming ends of -a pair of wires and for crimping anopen-sided electrical connector onto said ends, said apparatuscomprising, a crimping die having trough-like forming surface portionsfor bending the sidewalls of said connect-or into crimped engagementwith said wires, a crimping anvil, a slot in said die extendingtransversely of the axis thereof and intersecting said forming surfaceportions, a shearing member disposed between said die and anvil and inalignment with said slot, means rigidly connecting said shearing memberto said anvil, and means for moving said anvil relatively towards andaway from said die whereby, upon positioning wires in said die with theends of said wires disposed in said slot, and upon relative movement ofsaid die towards said anvil, said shearing member moves through saidslot, said wires are trimmed by said shearing member, and said connectoris crimped onto said trimmed ends by said die.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 including Wire clamping means oneach end of said die and anvil, said clamping means being 'closable uponmovement of said die towards said anvil thereby to clamp wires beingcrimped between said die and anvil.

4. A device as set forth in claim 2 including wire guide means on oneside of said die, said guide means comprising convergent guide surfaceson each side of said slot whereby wires being positioned in said slotcan be led laterally along said surfaces from a side of said die.

5. Apparatus of the type intended for trimming a wire and crimping anopen U-type ferrule forming portion of an electrical connector onto thetrimmed end comprising, a crimping die, an anvil 'cooperable with saiddie to crimp said connector onto said wire, slot means in said die,shearing blade means normally disposed between said die and anvil andmovable into said slot to trim the end portion of a wire extendingbetween said shearing blade means and said die, a two part wire clampingmeans, one part of said clamping means being on said die and the otherpart thereof being on said anvil, said parts of 7 8 said clamping meansbeing engageable With said Wire 1,818,560 8/1931 Lamplough 29-282 duringrelative movement of said anvil towards said die 2,549,838 4/1951 Miller29-212 X whereby, said wire is clamped during crimping of said 2,612,93210/1952 Vinson 29--212 ferrule-forming portion. 2,779,954 2/ 1957 Barnes7-5 .6 5 2,915,929 12/ 1959 Dem1er 72-400 References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

397,290 2/1889 Hi11er 72 331 THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner-

1. APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING AN END OF A WIRE AND CRIMPING AN OPEN-SIDEDCONNECTOR INTO SAID END COMPRISING, A CRIMPING DIE HAVING TROUGH-LIKEFORMING SURFACE PORTIONS FOR BENDING THE SIDEWALLS OF SAID CONNECTORINTO CRIMPED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WIRE, A CRIMPING ANVIL, A SLOT IN SAIDDIE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE AXIS THEREOF AND INTERSECTING SAIDFORMING SURFACE PORTIONS, A SHEARING MEMBER DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID DIEAND ANVIL AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SLOT, MEANS RIGIDLY CONNECTING SAIDSHEARING MEMBER TO SAID ANVIL, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ANVILRELATIVELY TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM SAID DIE WHEREBY, UPON POSITIONING SAIDWIRE IN SAID DIE WITH ITS AXIS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAIDTROUGH-LIKE PORTION AND WITH ITS END PORTION IN SAID SLOT, AND UPONRELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID ANVIL TOWARD SAID DIE, SAID SHEARING MEMBERMOVES INTO SAID SLOT, SAID END PORTION OF SAID WIRE IS TRIMMED, ANDCONNECTOR IS CRIMPED ONTO THE TRIMMED END OF SAID WIRE.